1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charging device for a portable terminal. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multi-charging device capable of charging a plurality of portable terminals simultaneously.
2. Description of the Related Art
A portable terminal is typically a device with which a user can communicate with another user through a base station, or connect to a service provided by a service provider, while carrying the device with him or her. The development of mobile communication technology and the information communication industry has rapidly expanded service coverage for portable terminals. For example, although the mobile communication service was confined to services such as paging, voice call, Short Messaging Service (SMS), etc. in its early development stage, it has since been extended to provide other services such as multimedia services including video, entertainment services including gaming, and financial services including mobile banking. In addition, a wide range of users from children and teenagers to elderly persons regularly use portable terminals.
Recently, enhanced multimedia service has been made available through portable terminals. Now the performance of portable terminals rivals that of a typical Personal Computer (PC), as observed in smart phones or tablet PCs. Therefore, an environment has been built in which a user can browse the Internet, view a video, and further conduct business using a smart phone or a tablet PC, while moving. In addition, efforts are also underway to substitute the use of tablet PCs for paper text books or print-outs at classes, lectures, and seminars.
Regarding portable terminals such as tablet PCs that are used by multiple participants in a school, a lecture room, or a seminar, they are typically managed and distributed to users on a temporary basis by a school or other host. Accordingly, it is preferable to keep the battery packs of the portable terminals charged to or above an acceptable level in order to use the portable terminals normally for at least a predetermined time. A portable terminal may be unusable for its intended purpose if its battery is not charged to the acceptable level to last the duration of the intended use.
However, available devices for readily charging tens to hundreds of portable terminals have undesirable characteristics. Since portable terminals are typically fabricated and sold for individual use on the whole, one charger kit is usually supplied with each portable terminal Since a charger is usually connected to an interface connector of a portable terminal by cable, a user manually connects the portable terminal to the charger. Accordingly, much time and energy are used to connect the battery packs of portable terminals that are temporarily provided to a plurality of users, such as in a lecture or seminar, to chargers, to thereby keep the battery packs charged to an acceptable power level.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus of a multi-charging device for providing easy connectivity and simultaneously charging a plurality of portable terminals.